


Infected

by renstansyuta (kei_yairi)



Series: Anyone x Yuta [8]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Angst, Infected Characters, M/M, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Science Fiction, Tranquilizers, Virus, Workplace, Workplace Relationship, Zombies, it's more of a drama than a zombie-slaying story actually, no real zombie lurking around
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-02-29 08:02:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18774559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kei_yairi/pseuds/renstansyuta
Summary: You said I underestimated the technology? Fine. You could compare those technologies with the viruses that were also existing AND DEVELOPING around me right now. You won’t admire the technology we have here as something divine.Moreover... the already modern technology couldn't even beat a virus.





	Infected

**Author's Note:**

> ...happy reading~

Nothing has significantly changed. Imagine the world in the future would full of amazing technologies that ease you to transport, to communicate, or even to catch a criminal. It wasn’t exactly wrong. But some people around me didn’t find it amazing for they were there when the process was happening.

I didn’t too. I’m currently in a bullet train from my hometown. You see, even in this futuristic era, I’m still using the term “hometown”. Of course. These futuristic human beings still need homes to come home to, and a family to ease their loneliness. Don’t we all?

This bullet train didn’t differ too much from what I’ve seen in some old books my father owned. The books explained about trains from era to era; from the first time a thing called ‘locomotive’ was invented, to the bullet-typed one that is still developing even after the year 2027, the year when I was born, twenty-three years ago.

In year 2050, in my 23rd year living in this very planet, who would have expected that the technology – actually – didn’t develop as rapid as people’s imagination in movies, especially from those years before I was born?

You said I underestimated the technology? Fine. You could compare those technologies with the viruses that were also existing AND DEVELOPING around me right now. You won’t admire the technology we have here as something divine. Moreover, those hover-cars are polluting the view of the sky from down here.

Getting off the train after I’ve reached the Border between inner and outer city, I still need to use the MRT. From this border, an MRT would be enough to take me straight to the station near the company where I’m working.

This was the transportation technology development that affects me the most. I didn’t need to leave home too early to avoid traffic jam or any other ridiculous things. I could even go to the company from my hometown every day. But, of course, it would be more reasonable if I’m in the same city with my workplace, won’t it? In the end, I could only go home once every month, at weekend.

And, here I am.

“Hey, Yuta!” Johnny greeted me. I saw Jaehyun stood beside him, and waving at me.

I waved back at my coworkers. As always, like every early month I’ve been through ever since I became an employee, we always met in this MRT station, and we spent the ride to our company’s station together with other employees, and students.

I’m so grateful there were amount of transportation to carry many passengers so it won’t be too crowded for each unit we rode. We don’t have to sit too near with those students too. Not that I don’t like them. Not that they were too noisy or something either. It’s just… watching those students who sat at the other part of the train kind of remind me of myself years ago.

I graduated from high-school like many people did. I entered the college, and chose department of economics like my parents wanted me to. That department seemed like everyone’s favorite in this country. Well, what did I expect? This country was currently at the highest position in that sector. In the end, everything that related to the economy seemed promising for most of people in this country.

Sometimes, I was a little jealous to those _eminent_ people I saw on television. They had their own way in making their admirers moved. They sang, played guitar, acted, danced, and got paid for it. I see those as something really amazing.

But I guess I couldn't be like them. I didn’t have the courage to try those _eminent_ experiences. Moreover, I didn’t have the bravery to move outside the _line_ that my family had applied for generations.

I graduated in my fourth year in college. I didn’t get the _cumlaude_ , nope. I wasn’t the type of student who wanted to graduate as fast as they could, as best as they _should_. I wasn’t the type of student who chase after the highest, smartest predicate in campus. Nope. I just needed to pass each and every subjects I took per semester, and, yeah. That. I just needed no more coursework, no more papers I had to throw away for many revisions and no more boring meeting schedule with the professors. You know, staring at so many numbers for four years were not so fun in my humble opinion, subjectively speaking. Well, at least, the best thing in my department was, I don’t have to deal with viruses and all. It gave me a nausea to just think of it.

Alright. I almost laughed at my own way of thinking.

This MRT we’re in was still moving in high-speed to the station that was placed near the company where we were working.

Um. Were we talking about viruses earlier? Well, the syllogism was pretty weird.

I met Johnny for the first time when we attend the same high-school. That time, we often played video games. There were so many types of consoles, and I could say that we have the most famous one of a brand at the time.

No, Johnny and I weren’t come from wealthy families. We’re not part of those people who have money they didn’t even know how to spend it anymore for they already have every single thing they wanted. Nope. We worked part-times here and there to save money to – finally – be able to buy a console.

Yes, it belonged to both of us. But since I couldn't keep it in my house – for too many reasons and for too long history and I’m too lazy to tell any of those – in the end, we both agreed to keep it in Johnny’s.

There were so many games we played. We’ve played RPG, adventure, fighting, action, love simulation, and we even played those M rating games. Well, we’re both males and both of us – and I guess many people around the world too – have interest for beautiful – and sexy – people. We were at the age when we acted based on curiosity. I think we were pretty… normal?

But among it all, there was this one game I dislike the most. Johnny often played that game to scare me. After he made me screamed, he would laugh at me until his stomach hurt. He couldn't even get mad at me when I once accidentally threw the joystick I was holding to his flat TV after he – purposely – directed our characters to mob of zombies. He was too busy to laugh his ass off to get mad at me.

We had to fight the zombies, with not so very pleasing face designs, which capable of making me couldn't sleep for days.

Damn you, Johnny.

After we graduated from high-school, we entered different universities. But then again, I didn’t expect that in this futuristic world, earth got even narrower, and I met Johnny again as we worked in the same company.

Speaking of which, like those you saw in games, movies, even books, zombies were actually previously normal humans like I am; like we ALL were. They then mutated into living corpses for one sole reason: virus.

Yes, viruses. We’re still talking about viruses.

And, yes, in this futuristic world, there were _zombies_ lurking around us.

There were actually places to quarantine infected people. I couldn’t even imagine the reason we’ve reached the point where we should have those kinds of places.

Ah, I don’t want to talk about this any further. Information about infected humans was always scaring me. I was so glad, so grateful, when my family, my friends, and I were diagnosed as sterile from those viruses.

Actually, there were also vaccines that could protect human beings from the viruses. But for the unreasonable price, only wealthy people get the access to the vaccines periodically. People like me, my family, Johnny, Jaehyun, and the others could only injected that _thing_ annually.

How long actually those vaccines could protect your body from those viruses in one take?

I don’t know. There was no doctor willing to answer that question. No one was given the right to ask about anything related to the vaccines. I’ve seen a patient even got threatened that he wouldn’t get any vaccines if he kept asking those kinds of questions.

The hospitals at our current era were not only filled with doctors and patients. Here, you could also see soldiers walking around. You could see uniformed officers with rifles on their shoulder guarding several areas in the hospitals. These soldiers were assigned to licensed hospitals to stand guard over the laboratories with vaccines stored in each of it. We could only get those vaccines from licensed hospitals only. And NOT all hospitals are licensed. Exactly. Those vaccines liquids are so expensive, isn’t it? Those were the essential and beneficial items with detrimental price.

Oh, my life wasn’t completely normal. The already modern technology couldn't even beat a virus.

“Yuta.” Johnny nudged me.

How long was I daydreaming like this? Our train was stopped already. We’ve reached our destined station. I took my bag and followed Johnny with Jaehyun walked out, leaving the train. We then exited the station. From there, we only need to cross the road to reach the company where we were working. We entered the building with several other employees.

Taking the same route every morning, Jaehyun, Johnny, and I entered the elevator. Johnny pressed his and Jaehyun’s floor number before he helped me pressing my floor’s number. Just before the elevator door closed, I saw someone outside jogging toward the elevator and asked Johnny to press the button to keep the elevator door opened. That was when one of my coworkers from the same floor, Taeyong, entered the elevator. Taking a glimpse of Taeyong standing beside me, I smiled. I made sure Johnny didn't see me smiling when he finally let the elevator door closed, and the elevator started to move.

Taeyong. Just like I knew Jaehyun, I knew Taeyong after I work here. Unlike Jaehyun, I have... things for Taeyong. I turned my head again so that I could look at him, and there I realized. He didn’t look good today. He looked pale. I could even hear his breathing was too fast for his liking normally. He looked so… tired. Which I found it pretty weird for he’s pretty active for many of the company’s events. Running for several meters to the elevator earlier shouldn’t tire him this much.

Shouldn’t be…

Johnny and Jaehyun reached their floor first. After the elevator door was opened, they stepped out from the elevator. They waved at me and Taeyong before the elevator door was closed again. There were only the two of us there. That was when I started to talk.

I looked at him. “Tae?” I called carefully. “Are you alright?”

He didn’t look back at me. “I’m fine…”

His voice… was hoarse. “If you’re feeling unwell, I guess it’ll be better if you take a re—”

“I said I’M FINE!!” he snapped suddenly.

The way he acted around me startled me. It was unusual for him to act this way. He seemed so easily got agitated.

I had seen these kinds of symptoms in the news. I have a bad feeling about this. I was getting scared.

That’s impossible…

I pushed him with all my might until Taeyong’s back hit the elevator wall. Just like I had expected, he got angry. But that was my point. I want to see him angry. That way, I could see his eyes were…

I could see the veins around his eyes. His eyes were also getting redder, and watery…

Taeyong… was infected… first stage…

I gasped. How? Why?

I took a step back. I forgot that we’re still in an elevator. My back hit the cold elevator wall. I suddenly found it hard to breath. I was in the same room with an infected person.

Taeyong kept gazing at me. His breathing was getting shorter and tighter. I was pretty certain that his heart was also pumping his blood faster than usual. That was when I saw him frantically searched for something inside his working bag.

From a year I worked in this company, never before I had wanted this elevator to stop as fast as it could.

Stop.

Stop right now.

I want to get out!

Please!

To any gods exist…

I want to get out!!

And that was when Taeyong was pointing a gun to me, to my face.

God, please…

Where did he get the gun?

I heard the elevator dinged, signing that we’ve reached our destined floor.

Wasn’t it ironic? Taeyong and I worked in the same floor. He was actually such a fun person to work with. That was one of many things that made me interested in him. And it actually made me happy when he once said that... he wanted to know me better too. If I may add, we’re already in that point where we're trying to understand our deeper feelings toward each other. We’re not lovers yet, but I couldn’t see us as mere coworkers too. I realized we’re more than mere friends, but not enough to be lovers… but…

Not about today…

“Get out…” Taeyong ordered me. Slowly, I walked out from the elevator, and he followed behind me. “To our workroom…” he ordered again. Again, I obeyed him. I walked slowly to our work room.

We haven’t reached the employment where we could have our own workroom. We were still placed in large workroom with cubicles in it. Here, we share the workroom with other eleven people or so.

I didn’t know what Taeyong was going to do right now. With his infected self, with the gun in his hand, he walked into place with so many people in it. Was he going to…

“Tae—”

“Shut up, Yuta. Keep walking… and… shut up…” he said with the gun in his hand still pointed at my head.

I closed my eyes, in order to stop my tears from falling. I was scared. I was, so, scared. I didn’t remember what I have done in the past that lead me into this kind of situation.

I walked into our workroom. I looked at anybody in the room. Wendy, one of my coworkers, stared back at me. She was just about to greet me with her sweet smile, like every other morning. I saw her suddenly covered her mouth with both of her hands; staring at me – at us – with wide eyes. I know. She saw Taeyong. She saw how Taeyong pointed his gun at me. She saw the symptoms.

Yes, it was so easy to detect those infected people…

When Wendy reached for the phone receiver, Taeyong shot the ceiling, scaring everybody in the room. Scaring me. I heard Wendy and the other girls screamed for the gunshot sound.

“Don’t… call… the police… or the hospital… or anyone else… don’t…”

What do you expect, Taeyong? Anyone would hear the sound of the gunshot. It could be heard to next two other rooms, or even to this whole floor. I didn’t even want to think whether someone above this floor was shot by Taeyong’s bullet. I couldn’t even calculate this ceiling’s thickness, added with the upper floor’s floor thickness anymore. I couldn’t even think about anything. I was so, so, so scared.

All I know now was: Taeyong, the one who I love, had already changed into someone dangerous.

I guess Taeyong already reached the second stage of the infection. He could no longer think straight. He didn’t anticipate the chance of someone might come here after hearing the gunshot he made earlier.

“You saw me, didn't you? You've seen it already. The symptoms I have right now..." Taeyong chuckled. "After this, they’ll put me into quarantine, Yuta…” he said with heaving breathing. “We can’t see each other maybe for years…or forever…”

I nodded. I couldn’t say anything and at the same time, I couldn't hold my tears from falling anymore.

“I can’t make you wait that long…” he said. “And I’m pretty sure that you already hate me right now. That’s… good. Hate me, Yuta. I’m even ashamed to see myself like this…” he said as he took a sit on the floor in the middle of our workroom. The gun was still in his hand. “But… can I ask something from you, Yuta?”

“Wh… what is it?” I was scared. I was so scared. I didn’t know what he wanted from me.

He searched in his inner coat pocket. I looked at his hand that was still shaking very badly, he felt the need to yank his own hand in anger to stop the shaking. I saw it’s not working. He had reached the third stage. The virus would disrupt the motor system in your body.

With his shaking hand, he took the phone from his coat inner pocket. “I want to take our picture, for the last time, with my mortifying self, and with you who’s still so beautiful, perfect, and flawless. You’ll do it for me, won’t you?” Taeyong’s question caught me off guard. “When they put me into quarantine later, I beg you, Yuta. Please print the photo for me. I… I hope…” Taeyong’s voice was also getting more hoarse and trembling. “I hope… that way, I won’t lose my mind. I… I know you might want to look for a new man. Someone… that for certain… is much better than me. I know. But… at least… by realizing that there’s still someone like you in this world, I won’t lose my mind. You’ll do it for me… won’t you… Yuta?” he asked, as he pointed his gun at me. I gasped. All the people in our workroom gasped, making Taeyong pointed his gun toward those people before he returned to point his gun at me.

I nodded. Taeyong then made a gesture with his gun to ask me to sit beside him. I was so scared. I don’t want to get infected.

I sat on the floor. I still kept the distance from Taeyong. He, with his shaking body, closed the distance between us. He pressed himself against me and embraced me with his hand that was still holding a gun. I was so scared, I couldn’t even stop crying. I didn’t even know whether I could think straight or not anymore.

With his other hand, Taeyong pointed his phone camera toward our faces. He waited for several moments to his uncontrollably shaking hand to subside.

“T… Tae… don’t push yourself…” I said. I hoped. I wished Taeyong would just change his mind, and stopped this all. I wished Taeyong would just let me go.

“No… wait…” he said as he was still trying to suppress his shaking hand. “Wa… wait…” He jerked his hand again before he tried to direct the phone camera toward our faces. To no avail. His hand was still shaking. “Damn it!” he cursed that scared me so much. His hand – that was still holding the gun – was embracing me dangerously. He couldn’t even control his hand which was only holding a phone. How could I believe in his other hand that was carrying heavier and more dangerous item like a gun? “Yuta…” he called suddenly and took my attention away from my thoughts of fear. “Please… help me take our picture…” he said as he showed his phone to me.

I could see the veins beneath his skin on his hand were getting more and more bulging. Carefully I accepted the phone from his hand, without touching him. I know I won’t get infected from mere touching. But I was so scared. Then, I made sure the camera in the phone was already on, and I pointed the camera toward our faces.

“I want you to smile, Yuta… for me… for the last time…” he said before he gave the sign for me to press the button on his phone.

I smiled, my tear flowed, and then I pressed the button on the phone to take our picture together.

“Thank you…” he said as he closed the distance, as he tried to place a kiss to my hair.

By reflex, with his phone still in my hand, I moved away from him. Just a moment after that, I’ve just realized that my action might trigger a dangerous reaction from Taeyong. I carefully gazed at him.

I could see he was disappointed from how he looked at me. His reddened eyes and heavy breathing aside, I knew how much I upset him from the way he stared at me. “Yuta…” he called as he reached my thigh.

I pray to any god exist in this world… please…

“Kiss me…” he asked.

I was so scared. I shook my head. “I… I’m sorry, Tae…”

“Are you afraid of getting infected?” he asked as he tightened his grip around my thigh.

I closed my eyes. “Tae, sorry… I’m so sorry…”

“You know that I’m not going to hurt you, Yuta… I don’t want to see you suffer…” He grabbed my thigh. I could feel his fingers squeezed my femur.

“Tae…! Taeyong, I’m sorry…! Forgive me, please—”

Hatred filled the gaze he threw at me. He gripped hard my thigh with both of his hands. I screamed when abruptly he was about to bend and break my femur.

Suddenly Taeyong’s movement was stopped. His strength around my thigh was lessened. I opened my eyes, and I saw a tranquilizer dart pierced Taeyong’s arm. He gaped at the tranquilizer dart before he shifted his gaze toward me. He moved his hand to reach me, but someone behind me pulled me away from Taeyong’s reach.

I just know that Taeyong wanted to do something with the gun in his hand. But I guess the drug effect from the tranquilizer dart was so strong that his hold loosened, and the gun fell from his grip. Two soldiers then immediately grabbed Taeyong and paralyzed him easily.

“Are you alright?” asked the one who pulled me earlier, who I found out was also a soldier. Soldiers? Where did they come from? When did they get here? Did they heard the gunshot earlier? Or did someone call them?

“I need your response,” the soldier tried again, startling me. “Can you understand my word? Are you alright?”

I wanted to say something but I couldn't. There, I could only nod.

“Good. Did he hurt you? Any wounds you get? Any damaged skin?” the soldier asked again. I could only point at my thigh. “Okay. I see that you’re still in shock. So your thigh hurts?” he asked again and I nodded. “Okay. Thank you for your cooperation. We appreciate it very much. Now, we need to take you to the military hospital so you can get proper checks. We can’t take the risk for the smallest probability of anyone being infected. Is that fine?” he asked.

I nodded. Though I’m scared as he mentioned ‘military hospital’, but I don’t want to get infected either. I let the soldier embraced me and helped me to stand. As the soldier took me with him, at the same time, I watched as they – the other soldiers – caught Taeyong, put on handcuffs around his wrists, behind his back. I gasped when they put on a muzzle to Taeyong’s face. I know they needed to do that to prevent any unwanted things from infected persons. But still…

I’ve seen people being muzzled in television or newspapers I’ve read. I never expected that I would see it right in front of my eyes. Moreover, it’s the person I care who got muzzled.

When they took Taeyong to a car with a cage in it, they took me to an ambulance. When I saw the cage-look car – with Taeyong in it – drove off away from me, I closed my eyes.

…and not long after that, I don’t know what was happening around me anymore…

  
**___…+++***++=fin=++***+++…___**

 

**Author's Note:**

> Ugh, so I had a nightmare, and, ugh, the superstition around me told me, to prevent the nightmare to happen in real life, someone has to share it. And this is how I share my nightmare. I was in Yuta's position in my dream, and, so, yeah...
> 
> So, what do you think about this? Comments are so rare lately and it means so much love to me. Really~ TTwTT)~


End file.
